The place was temporally, for testing purposes. I do know that the AVR emits heat. The vero used to be in the lowboard.
To be honest: I dont want to buy a USB cable after I bought a PSU needlessly already.
I can appreciate that. Hopefully you can understand that this is a rare occurrence, hence the willingness to take a look at the device after such a period of time has elapsed.
FWIW, we don’t recommend or suggest using wallgang sockets or surge protectors when using the device.
You might have a USB-A cable around already – and it could be the case that you can power and use the device this way.
I just powered it successfully with a USB-cable attached to my PC.
Three questions I need to answer for myself, maybe with your help:
- Will this work on a long term? I will leave it on overnight and scrape my library tomorrow.
- If this works, how will I power it permanently via USB? I cant use any of the slots from my home theater, since all devices are powered off automatically. Should I get a USB-A PSU with 5V/2A ?
- Will a Vero4K+ be a substantial upgrade for me, also thinking about the sturdiness?
It should work, but the device is not able to receive as much power this way. So keep any peripherals to a bare minimum.
Ideally yes – make sure it’s not a phone charger, as these are usually not good at providing a sustained output.
If you’re streaming from a NAS, the Gigabit Ethernet will be beneficial in the long run.
I will attach two larger HDDs to it via a separately powered USB Hub and maybe, fingers crossed, a mini BT M/KB. Thats my main and only use for the Vero atm, as a connected USB HD-audio and HD-video media player. Im not into streaming via network (yet).
If this wont last, I think I will get a Vero again. Its without competition in its price range and my device lasted at least some years. I dont want to be bitter, it did its job. And everything in my libraries and skins is setup for Kodi and my very specific ideas. I just wish I wouldnt have to deal with this situation at all, I guess.
Since this worked it means that ‘something’ happened to the connection between the barrel jack and the mainboard. The USB port is not attached to the same place so there is no reason to think that whatever happened to one will happen to the other. I will note that there is no need to get anything larger than a 1 amp PSU since the only thing you would be plugging into the other port is a powered hub so you only need to cover the draw of the Vero itself. If your going to purchase a USB adapter the safest choices are likely ones sold specifically for powering SBC’s like Raspberry Pi’s. Equally as good would be if you have an old Apple branded charger for an iPhone/Pad laying around. They are the exception to the “don’t use a cell phone charger” rule as they are built to a much higher spec.
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So far its stable, even after scraping a huge music library.
One strange behaviour: Sometimes my TV will switch input to an unused HDMI Port now, and the vero will be powered off if I change Inputs on my AVR. I highly suspect some CEC/ARC stuff ging on. Will turn everything off and test further.
Turn everything off for a couple of minutes.
Turn it back on. It should be OK.
Thanks for the hint. It was actually a mix of different things:
Some updates ago, my Logitech Harmony stopped working with the Vero. I didnt bother fixing it back then, because I am using a BT mini keyboard. It turns out, that flashing the newest build on the now USB powered Vero brought the Harmony function “back to life”, which was sending a “power off” signal to Vero successfully, turning it off.
While testing all hardware components some days ago, I plugged a HDD directly to my TV. Turns out the Sony “remembered” the drive at this HDMI port and treated it together with the Vero as a USB recorder and switched input to it when detecting activity.
I am optimistic with this solution. I will test and observe. Thanks for sticking with me in this case!
My Vero4k+ PSU also gave up the ghost. I have powered it via a random “travel phone USB charger” and the USB port for over a year. The power outlet is turned off when not in use.
IME any charger seems to work…
Thanks for your input.
I bought a beefy looking charger and a reliable USB cable. Might be placebo, but I feel better with something trustworthy on this end, especially with HDDs attached.
Its working now 24/7 since I posted last. I only had a sad face once, but this was most likely related to switching resolution while watching a SD movie and not related to power issues.
I assume that there have been power problems long before I noticed them, because my Kodi/OSMC experience is way smoother now. I often found one of my HDDs spinning, hours after I watched a movie. There were issues with remote controls and other things too.
Im really happy that I can use the vero again.